1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to cargo restraining and storing devices for use with pickup-truck type vehicles. More specifically, the present invention discloses a combination side panel extension and rear box enclosure for use with a pickup truck bed and which provides the combined features of upwardly extendable side panels secured to the side of the truck bed and of a rearwardly situated and hingedly covered storage device easily accessible from the direction of the truck""s tail gate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is well documented with examples of storage systems for use with truck type vehicles. U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,754, issued to Clare, teaches a hidden storage system incorporated into the wheel well area of the bed of a vehicle and which utilizes hinges to open and close the fender/side panel of the bed. The storage system further includes a single assembly composed of a storage box and hinged side panels located on at least one side of the bed. The side panels are again best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 and include braces and a hinge which extends the full length of the truck bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,588, issued to Rodosta, discloses a folding truck bed and cover including a front panel, rear panel and at least one intermediate panel. The width of the panels converge from the front of the truck to the rear, allowing the rear panel to fold down into the bed and form a storage box within the truck bed when the cover is folded up toward the front of the truck.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,992, issued to Hamilton, teaches a storage box suspended on side rails of a conventional pickup truck bed and so that it can be slid along the length of the cargo compartment. The storage box is opened from the front or rear of the cargo bed and the top panel can be completely removed from the storage box while it is held in a confined space with limited headroom.
Additional examples of combination toolboxes and top covers for pickup truck beds are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,086, issued to Dirks, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,173, issued to Repetti. The Dirks patent illustrates a storage unit situated rearwardly of the truck cab and an upwardly and pivotally actuable tonneau style cover. The Repetti patent illustrates, in one embodiment, multiple sections which are foldable over each other in accordion fashion to a storage position proximate a front end location of the truck bed.
The present invention is an improvement over the prior art in that it provides a combination side panel and storage container assembly which is both adaptable for use with many existing truck bed designs, while providing concurrent benefits for additional holding capacity for items placed in the truck bed and which would otherwise extend over the existing side walls, combined with more easily accessible and securely lockable storage capacity proximate the rear tail gate. The present invention further enjoys the benefits of durability of construction and secure assembly and affixation to the existing truck bed designs.
The existing truck bed is typically defined by a bottom, front wall, extending side walls, and rear tail gate. The side walls typically have further defined therein substantially downwardly extending and recessed apertures.
The assembly includes a pair of main side panels, each having a substantially planar and elongated shape and further including downwardly extending stabilizer pins which are receivingly engaged within associated ones of the recessed apertures and in order to arrange the side panels in upwardly extending fashion from the extending side walls of the truck bed. It is also typical, although not limiting, that the main side panels are arrayed along the sides of the truck bed in a location proximate the front wall.
In certain applications, a pair of rear side panels are employed, each having a similar and typically reduced planar and elongated shape and each also including downwardly extending stabilizer pins which are receivingly engaged within additional and associated downwardly recessed apertures of the truck bed. The ability to interengage the rear panels with the main panels is also provided by associating pluralities of horizontally projecting pins and horizontally recessed apertures defined therebetween. In one arrangement, the pins are defined in horizontally projecting fashion from the rear panels, and the main side panels each further include the horizontally extending recesses defined in associated rearwardly facing edges which receivingly engage the pins of an associated rear panel.
A storage container is supported upon the truck bed bottom in proximity to the rear tail gate. The container has a given three dimensional, preferably modified cuboidal, shape with a base constructed of a bottom, first and second side walls, rear wall and front wall further defined by first and second surfaces configured for mating with wheel wells configured in the truck bed and to fixedly position the storage container in proximity to the rear tail gate. A locking mechanism is further provided for securing the lid in a closed position over the base.